1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bracelets and necklaces. More particularly, the present invention relates to bracelets and necklaces arranged to enable a wearer to change beads and adjust the positioning of beads thereon. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to bracelets and necklaces including adjustable means for bead position retention. The present invention also includes an improved end connector arrangement to facilitate bead placement on bracelets and necklaces.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Jewelry bracelets and necklaces of the type having two end connectors or clasps, allow the wearer to place the jewelry around the wrist or neck, secure it in position, and be reasonably assured that it will not pass over the hand or head. Such jewelry is generally formed as a strand, chain or band with the end connectors or clasps at opposing ends thereof. The end connectors may be joined together to retain the jewelry in position, and then disconnected from one another to allow removal of the jewelry from the wearer. In generally, most can be categorized as threaded, hook-and-loop, or spring-loaded latches with loops. Some jewelry end connectors or clasps are easier to use than others.
Bracelets and necklaces may or may not include supplemental pieces fixedly or movably positioned thereon. For example, the bracelet may be a charm bracelet with links onto which charms are affixed, or the necklace may include a precious stone attached to a loop that may slide along the necklace chain. While charm bracelets and necklaces including slidable pieces have been known for many years, there has been growing interest in modifiable jewelry, and bracelets in particular, configured to permit the wearer to select supplemental pieces of interest to be applied to the jewelry, and add and remove such pieces as desired.
Modifiable bracelets as originally made commercially available simply involved a strand, string, or chain having one or both of the end connectors sized to permit the supplemental piece, such as a bead with some sort of port, to pass thereover. Upon the joining of the two end connectors, the bead would be retained on the strand, but able to move freely around the strand. In the event one of the end connectors was sized larger than the internal dimension of the bead port, the bead was able to move freely about the strand until reaching that larger end connector, at which it would be blocked from further forward movement. The number and size of the beads applied by the wearer to the strand was only limited by the internal dimensions of the bead port, and the wearer's interest and capability to add beads to the strand.
Interest in the modifiable bracelets may have been dampened to an extent as a result of the concern that, absent application of removable beads to cover the entire length of the strand, the beads move to undesired positions on the strand. One or more beads may gravitate to the underside of the wearer's wrist, or a favorite bead may not be observable from a certain vantage point. It was soon realized that there were limitations associated with the modifiable bracelets first made commercially available. Specifically, it was determined that the modifiable bracelets allowed wearers to add and remove beads from a strand as desired, but did not allow the wearers to regulate the positioning of the beads on the strand.
Recent attempts to solve this limitation in modifiable bracelets (and necklaces) have met with some success. One type of modifiable bracelet is a strand with end connectors and one or more fixed retainer bases spaced along the length of the strand. Each retainer base is designed to hold a removable retainer thereon. Beads with ports may be passed over either or both end connectors and the retainer bases. Once one or more beads are placed in a desired region of the strand, the removable retainer is placed on the retainer base. The retainer is sized bigger than the bead port such that a bead may not be passed over it. The retainer(s) thereby prevent bead movement beyond the location of the retainer. Beads may, however, move slidingly along the strand between retainers and/or, dependent upon the end connector design, between a retainer and an end connector.
There are several limitations associated with a modifiable bracelet or necklace including the fixed retainer base and removable retainer as described. The fixed retainer base forces the wearer to place the retainer only at the position of the base, and thereby restricts the bead placement. That is, the wearer is not permitted to define retainer placement and, thus, bead placement. The modifiable bracelets that have been observed include either threaded or unthreaded retainer bases. The threaded retainer bases require an internally threaded retainer, while the unthreaded retainer bases interface with hinged retainers. The threaded base-retainer interfaces force the wearer to go through a substantial amount of work just to put that portion of the bracelet together. The interface between the unthreaded base and the hinged retainer is a loose one and makes for undesirable play of the retainer on the strand.
Another limitation of the existing modifiable bracelets is the end connector. The end connectors of the existing modifiable bracelets are threaded. They force the wearer to use only internally threaded beads, or beads with large bead ports. The threaded end connectors force the wearer to go through the effort of threading internally threaded retainers thereover before reaching a retainer base. They also force the wearer to thread internally threaded beads thereover before passing to a location of interest between fixed retainer bases and/or end connectors. The effort required to thread retainers and/or beads reduces the commercial value of such modifiable bracelets.
Therefore, what is needed is a modifiable bracelet, necklace, or other removable jewelry item configured to enable a wearer to easily add and remove supplemental pieces to the item strand. What is also needed is such a modifiable jewelry item configured to enable a wearer to position selectively on the strand one or more retainers to retain one or more supplemental pieces on the strand. Further, what is needed is such a modifiable jewelry item including end connectors suitable for ease of passage of retainers and/or supplemental pieces thereover.